車
車 — Car
car
On’yomiシャ (sha)
Kun’yomiくるま (kuruma)
Stroke order (7 strokes)
Watch the strokes draw themselves in the correct order — numbers mark where each stroke starts. Diagram from KanjiVG (CC BY-SA).
Common words using 車
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 自動車 | じどうしゃ jidousha | car; automobile; motorcar |
| 車 | くるま kuruma | car; automobile; vehicle |
| 下車 | げしゃ gesha | alighting (from a train, bus, etc.); getting off; getting out (of a car) |
| 乗用車 | じょうようしゃ jouyousha | (passenger) car; automobile |
| 自転車 | じてんしゃ jitensha | bicycle; bike |
| 車両 | しゃりょう sharyou | (wheeled) vehicle; car; (railroad) car |
Study notes
車 is a JLPT N5 kanji written with 7 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 1), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #333 of the 2,500 most frequent kanji in newspapers. On’yomi (音読み) are Chinese-derived readings mostly used in compound words; kun’yomi (訓読み) are native Japanese readings, with any highlighted part written in hiragana after the kanji (okurigana).
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